Loving Creations for You: Judy and Nick Pistachio Mixed Berry Macarons

Thursday, 22 January 2026

Judy and Nick Pistachio Mixed Berry Macarons

My friend requested for some Judy and Nick macarons and brown sugar cookies for her daughter's birthday. It's the 12th consecutive year I am baking for her! I am sharing the macaron version in this blog post.

The macarons are filled with one of the yummiest flavour combinations I have made: pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream and strawberry raspberry jam. I used only added 10% sugar by weight to the fruit puree to make the jam so it remains very tart and fruity. I reduced the puree to half its original weight over low heat until it is thick before storing in the refrigerator.

According to my friend, the macarons were so yummy even her elderly mother loved it!

The fillings were rather time consuming to make too because I make all the components from scratch.

Here's the recipe for the pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream.

Ingredients:

75g egg whites (about 2)
1/16 tsp salt
65g sugar
140g unsalted butter, slightly softened*
10g milk powder*
140g pistachio butter*

Steps:
1. Double boil egg whites with salt & sugar, whisking constantly until mixture reaches 71.1C.
2. Whip till stiff, glossy peak, & cooled to room temperature.
3. Add butter 1tbs at a time. Continue beating 8-10 min on med-high speed until light & fluffy.
4. Add milk powder during the last min of beating until incorporated.
5. Stir some buttercream into the pistachio butter to lighten it up before adding it back to the buttercream. Fold the lightened pistachio butter into the buttercream in a few additions. You may use it immediately or freeze in airtight condition until use if making ahead of time. Briefly whip with a spatula after defrosting.

* Additional notes for ingredients

Butter:

You may replace partially with vegetable shortening if you are not able to serve this in a cool environment. I live in the tropics so the filling may soften quite a lot at 30C non air-conditioned room temperature. But if your environment is cool, use all butter because it's yummier 😋.

Milk powder:

You may toast the milk powder for a caramel flavour as well! To toast, bake in a thin layer in the oven at 140C, stirring every 8-10 min until golden brown but not too dark. Total duration depends on whether you are toasting in bulk or small amounts. Milk powder adds stability to the buttercream too.

Pistachio butter:

Toast shelled pistachios at 150C for 10-15min or until aromatic. Remove the skins first if you wish by blanching and rubbing between a towel. Blend with a little salt to taste. Using a powerful blender helps as you don't need to thin out the mixture with oil.

You may refer to this reel to have a peek at filling the shells:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTh0m2bCULh/?igsh=MXJtMGc3M3RrYzI4OA==

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe to make the macaron shells.

Here are some pictures of the undecorated macaron shells..